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This research project aims to develop methods to evaluate the risk of genetically modified plants and bacteria transferring their transgenes to other organisms in the intestinal tract of humans.
<p>The project has three components with the following objectives:
<p>1. Gene transfer between prokaryotes by monitoring rare transfer events of Lactococcus lactis transgenes to other microorganisms.
<p>2. Gene transfer from prokaryotes to mammalian cells by assessing the transfer of transgenes from microorganisms to human intestinal epithelial cells.
<p>3. Survival of plant DNA: evaluate whether plant-derived transgene DNA can survive in the small intestine.
The overall objective of this project is to develop methods to evaluate the risk of genetically modified plants and bacteria transferring their transgenes to other organisms in the intestinal tract of humans.
<p>The ability to determine whether there is a significant risk of such horizontal gene transfer occurring is a key to element in the safety assessment of GM foods.
<p>The aim of this project is therefore to evaluate the risks associated with the use of GMOs in the human diet by specifically determining the persistence in the GI tract of plant transgenes and establishing whether or not transgenes in GM microbes are transferred within it.
<p>Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.